<p class="is-style-lead">A former TikTok crypto influencer has been forced to forfeit a gold physical bitcoin and more than $17,000 in cash after pleading guilty to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering charges.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="strong-tiktok-star-splurged-stolen-cash-on-crypto-strong"><strong>TikTok star splurged stolen cash on crypto</strong></h2>



<p>Denish Sahadevan, also known as Danny Devan on social media, reportedly ran an elaborate scheme through which he defrauded lenders and the Small Business Administration (SBA) of over $1.2 million in funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).</p>



<p>The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland made the revelations in a May 31 <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/former-social-media-influencer-pleads-guilty-federal-charges-scheming-obtain-more-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>, which claimed Sahadevan laundered the proceeds of his fraudulent activities by engaging in various monetary transactions, including buying and trading securities and cryptocurrency.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Remember how Danny Devan tried to troll me? <br>And Ive been telling you he is a FRAUD 🚮<br><br>He FAKED his entire social media account<br><br>Yea, he is going to JAIL now👮🏻<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Crypto?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#Crypto</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CryptocurrencyNews?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#CryptocurrencyNews</a> <a href="https://t.co/ghu0F73o8J" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/ghu0F73o8J</a></p>&mdash; TJ Markets (@TimMarkets) <a href="https://twitter.com/TimMarkets/status/1664318925931266064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">June 1, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<p>More than 26,000 people followed the 31-year-old social media influencer on <a href="https://crypto.news/anti-tiktok-restrict-act-could-affect-crypto-experts-say/">TikTok</a>. His bio states that he &#8220;invests in crypto stocks,&#8221; and some of his videos giving <a href="https://crypto.news/over-37-crypto-tiktoks-are-misleading-study-reveals/">crypto investment advice</a> have received over 300,000 views.</p>



<p>During the investigation, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Sahadevan’s Potomac house, where they uncovered a gold physical bitcoin of unknown value, several electronic devices, a container holding approximately 18 driver’s licenses belonging to other individuals, and roughly $17,043 in cash.</p>



<p>Sahadevan will forfeit the money and <a href="https://crypto.news/bitcoin-transaction-volume-hits-monthly-highs-as-coin-drops-below-27k/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bitcoin</a> seized during the search as part of his plea agreement, as both are considered proceeds of his fraudulent scheme. He will also be required to make restitution and pay a forfeiture judgment of nearly $430,000.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="strong-influencer-faces-20-years-in-prison-strong"><strong>Influencer faces 20 years in prison</strong></h2>



<p>Sahadevan reportedly initiated his fraudulent activities around March 2020. He submitted false EIDL and <a href="https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/covid-19-relief-options/paycheck-protection-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PPP</a> loan applications for four Maryland entities under his control, fabricating documents like tax forms and bank statements to support these applications.</p>



<p>The Rockville resident also admitted to using his home as the hub for producing counterfeit documents and electronically applying for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance/economic-injury-disaster-loans" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EIDL</a>&nbsp;and PPP loans.</p>



<p>His applications for approximately 71 PPP loans, totaling nearly $941,794.75, successfully netted roughly $146,000 in PPP benefits. Additionally, Sahadevan secured eight EIDLs amounting to $283,900.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe title="Danny Devan Fraud Part 1" width="1020" height="574" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ji0Giz1f3W8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p>The confessed fraudster now faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud, up to 10 years for money laundering, and a mandatory two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft, to be served consecutively to any other imposed sentence.</p>



<p>U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman has scheduled Sahadevan’s sentencing for Sept. 21.</p>



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TikTok crypto influencer pleads guilty to $1.2 million fraud

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